Dimension and impact of biases in funding for species and habitat conservation



: Adamo M, Sousa R, Wipf S, Correia RA, Lumia A, Mucciarelli M, Mammola S

Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

: 2022

: Biological Conservation

: BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION

: BIOL CONSERV

:  109636

: 272

: 8

: 0006-3207

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109636


Taxonomic and aesthetic biases permeate biodiversity conservation. We used the LIFE program-the European Union's funding scheme for the environment-to explore the economic dimension of biases in species-and habitat-level conservation. Between 1992 and 2020, animal species received three times more funding than plants. Within plants, species at northern latitudes, with broader ranges, and with blue/purple flowers received more funds regardless of their extinction risk. Conversely, species online popularity was only weakly positively associated with conservation expenditure. At the habitat-level, we found no relationship between expenditure and conservation status of the habitat. Our results can inform ways forward to achieve conservation goals that are comprehensive, sustainable, and cost-effective.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 23:32